Chapter 7
Spanish impersonal se in control infinitivals
and the ungrammaticality of se se sequences
In this paper, we offer an analysis of impersonal
se (Impse) constructions in control
infinitivals. We claim that se itself spells out
the valued version of the [uD] feature that Holmberg (2010) and Roberts (2010) propose is a property of T
in consistent null subject languages. As a corollary, we link
Impse constructions to the consistent null subject
status of a language (in the spirit of Belletti, 1982). Moreover, we claim that in
Impse constructions there is a projected null
external argument (pro
se) interpreted as non-referential because of the valued
version of Holmberg’s [uD] feature in T that se
spells out. We also argue that ungrammatical sequences of
Impse and other se result from the
featural deficiency of pro
se; specifically, it lacks a specification for
number.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Assumptions regarding Impse
- 2.1Impse spells out T[D]
- 2.2Projected pro
se
- 3.
The non-referentiality of pro
se
- 3.1
Pro
se
does not introduce a discourse referent
- 4.Impse in infinitives
- 5.The features of se
- 5.1The phi-features of pro
se
- 6.Conclusion
-
Acknowledgments
-
Notes
-
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Cited by
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MacDonald, Jonathan E. & Jeriel Melgares
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